1. Courts and Pretrial Processes

2. Dual Court System Separate state and federal court systems
Federal courts deal with matters of federal law
State courts deal with matters of state law
Native American tribal courts constitute a third system in several states

3. The Dual Court System
Whether a case enters through the federal or state court system depends upon which law has been broken. The right of exists in either system.

4. State Court Structure Arranged like a pyramid
One court of last resort
Intermediate appellate courts
Trial courts
General jurisdiction
Limited jurisdiction
Some specialty courts
Law defines jurisdiction of each

5. Trial Courts Handle determinations of guilt and sentencing
Trial courts of limited jurisdiction
Handle 90% of all criminal cases
Misdemeanors
Preliminary matters in felony cases
Relatively informal
Trial courts of general jurisdiction
Felony cases
Courts of record

6. State Appellate Courts
Rights of appeal determined by law
Review of previous trial for procedural errors
Possible outcomes:
Order a new trial
Allow defendant to go free
Uphold (sustain) original verdict

7. State Court of Last Resort
Highest state court
Usually called the “State Supreme Court”
Reviews issues of law appealed from the trial courts

8. Court Structures of Alaska (Reformed) and Georgia (Unreformed)
Reformers have called on states to reduce the number of courts, standardize their names, and clarify their jurisdictions.

9. Specialty Courts Focus is on a particular kind of case
Specialization can be based on different criteria:
Alleged perpetrator (e.g. juvenile court)
Type of crime (e.g. drug court)
Factors associated with the crime (e.g. gun court)

10. Federal Court Structure
The United States Supreme Court
The United States Courts of Appeal
The United States District Court

11. Federal Court Structure: U.S. District Court
Each state has at least one Federal District
94 Districts throughout the U.S.
Primary trial court of the U.S. system

12. Federal Court Structure: Court of Appeals
Also called the Circuit Courts because the jurisdiction covers a large geographical area
Usually located in major cities
Reviews decisions of lower courts
Cases involve constitutional issues

13. The U.S. Supreme Court Highest court in the land; Court of last resort
Decisions set precedents
Allowed to choose the cases it hears
9 Justices (1 Chief Justice, 8Associate Justices)

14. The U.S. Supreme Court (contd.)
Full Court hears about 100 cases per year
4 Justices must vote to hear a case (Rule of Four)
Majority, minority & dissenting opinions

15. Effective Management of State Courts
Effective state court management of huge caseloads is problematic
Fragmented structure
Inadequate resources
Uneven quality of judges
A proposed solution is a unified court system with four goals:
Eliminate overlapping and conflicting jurisdictional boundaries
Create hierarchical and centralized court structure
Courts funded by state government
Separate civil service personnel system

16. Functions of the Judge
Adjudicator
Negotiator
Administrator

17. Duties of the Judiciary
Oversee conduct in court
Settle questions of evidence and procedure
Guide questioning of witnesses
Instructs the jury about law
Decide case when a jury is not used (bench trial)
Decide on sentence

18. Actions of a Trial Court Judge in Processing a Felony Case
The judge ensures that legal standards are upheld, maintains courtroom decorum, protects the rights of the accused, meets the requirement of a speedy trial, and ensures that case records are maintained properly.

19. Judicial Qualifications
Qualifications vary by state
Typical qualifications include:
resident of the state
licensed to practice law
member of the state bar association
25 years old or older
less than 70 years old

20. Judicial Selection Systems
Appointment
Partisan election
Nonpartisan election
Missouri Plan (a.k.a. The Merit Plan) A combination of:
Appointment and
Election

21. Selecting Federal Judges
Appointed by the President
Confirmed (advice and consent) of the Senate
Serve for a period of good behavior (normally life)

22. Pretrial Processes
Purpose of pretrial processes is to ensure due process of law
Force prosecutors and judges to:
Review the evidence
Make sure probable cause exists
Dismiss unnecessary or unjust charges (filter out)
Defendant is exposed to assembly-line atmosphere of the lower criminal courts

23. Pretrial Processes (contd.)
Arraignment
Often the first formal meeting between prosecution and defense
Charges are read and plea is entered
Prosecutors begin to evaluate the case
Don’t want to waste limited time and resources
May decide to drop case
Preliminary hearing
Defense may challenge the evidence through motions

24. Pretrial Release: Bail
Based on judge’s view of:
The seriousness of the crime
The defendant’s prior record
The Eighth Amendment does not guarantee a right to bail, but prohibits excessive bail
Amount of bail should be high enough to ensure the defendant appears in court for trial – no higher.
Critics argue the bail system discriminates against poor people

25. Bail Amounts for Felony Defendants by Type of Offense
The amount of bail varies according to the offense.

26. Pretrial Release Factors
Nature of the crime and offender
Criminal background
Defendant’s cooperation
Impact on the community
Victim’s opinion